


Through Eyes of Dreams and Deadly Grace

by Kitashi



Series: Through Eyes of Courts and Fate [4]
Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M, Rated for Minor Language, Spoilers, You Have Been Warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 08:36:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6796945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitashi/pseuds/Kitashi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mor's POV of when Rhysand returns to the Night Court from Under the Mountain and Chapter 5 of A Court of Mist and Fury.</p><p>Mor hasn't seen her cousin in fifty years, ever since the curse took hold of Prythian, and now he's finally home... with a declaration that she never expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Through Eyes of Dreams and Deadly Grace

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again!
> 
> Thanks to everyone who left such kind comments and awesome suggestions on my last work, I've been inspired to write more! This was requested by Tori (I tried to link you, but you don't seem to have a profile TT_TT), who wanted to see Mor's POV of the "She's my mate" scene that happens after Rhysand disappears in ACOTAR, that's mentioned by Rhys in Chapter 54 of ACOMAF. However, that seemed like it wasn't enough, so I added a generous portion of Chapter 5 because I felt Mor had to be listening to their entire conversation after Rhys calls in on his & Feyre's bargain during her wedding. I hope I did her justice!
> 
> This is now a series, with definitely more coming (Lucien and/or Tamlin end of ACOMAF anyone? Rhys POV at Starfall? >:D)!
> 
> THIS CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS FOR BOTH BOOKS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
> 
> Enjoy! :D

He crashed into my room.

I stared open-mouthed at the floor, where Rhysand, my cousin that I hadn’t seen or heard from since the day the curse fell upon Prythian, groaned as he tried to push himself off my expensive crimson rug, the one that was under the vanity full of cosmetics he had barely missed knocking over.

Tried being the keyword here. He looked like he had been through hell and back at least twice.

“Rhys!” I was next to him in a moment, grabbing him by the shoulder, hauling him into a sitting position and pushing his blue-black hair out of his face. My arms were around him an instant later, my relief and joy that he had survived overwhelming me. I couldn’t believe he was back. It had been so long, and I had missed-

“She’s my mate.”

I was stunned. I pulled back from him. Nearly fifty years without a word, and this is how the bastard greets me. If I wasn’t so grateful to see him alive, I would have throttled him. The temptation was still strong.

“Rhys, what are you-”

“She’s my mate!” he said more forcefully this time. He was frantic, looking like he was about to lose it any second. I knew the effect a mating bond could have on males in general, but Rhys… I’d never seen him like this.

“Rhys… Rhys…” I said, trying to sooth him. “Start at the beginning. Who’s your mate?”

He looked at me wide-eyed, his violet eyes so full of fear and pain that my heart broke for him. The most powerful High Lord Prythian had ever seen, one of the strongest Illyrian warriors to ever be born… reduced to a fetal position in my room in the Night Court. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the horrors he had probably experienced to keep Velaris safe, to keep _us_ safe.

“Feyre,” he gritted out, as though it hurt just to say the name. I mentally relaxed just a little. At least it wasn’t Amarantha. That would have been a cruel turn of events, no matter which way we looked at it.

“Who is Feyre?” I asked gently. I didn’t expect to even get this far, but there was no way he was going rest unless he let off some of this stress; this didn’t seem like something Az or Cass could solve with a few well-placed insults and punches later. This required a… more delicate approach. “Take a deep breath… start at the beginning.”

Rhys looked at me, only slightly less frantic than before.

“Not safe… walls have ears…”

I mentally cursed myself for not thinking of that. The Night Court was the last place to be revealing secrets, especially with the state he was in. Even in his private residence. He… we _all_ had a reputation to uphold. I laid my hand on his shoulder.

“Hold on.” He grabbed onto my wrist tightly, his skin so pale against my golden-brown after so much time Under the Mountain. With a last glance around the room, I winnowed us out of sight.

~~

We landed in the foyer of his home in Velaris, what had become my home for the last fifty years as we protected the City of Starlight in his stead. Rhys opened his eyes, and I caught a flash of recognition and… relief.

I’d never been more grateful that this place existed. Maybe being in a place he knew, a place that was safe, would calm him down.

I led him to the sitting room. It was slow going, though I wondered if that was a side effect of the last fifty years, or if he had landed wrong when he had crashed. Either way he needed rest, but I knew he wouldn’t sleep yet; his eyes were still too haunted, his movements still too jittery.

We finally made it to one of the armchairs, and once I settled him down, I got to work starting the fire and making some tea. Night Court nobility I may be, but that meant nothing here. Here, we were just family.

“I’m going to make you some tea,” I said, trying to fill the silence that had overtaken him. “Nuala and Cerridwen are at the House of Wind, doing their chores there. Azriel and Cassian are off doing who knows what. Amren is… being Amren. It’s just us here.” I busied myself, trying to think of what would be the best way to broach the subject of his captivity. Of his… mate.

Rhys was never someone I could see settling down. He was too full of mischievous energy, too full of power to be on equal ground with anyone. The only way he would be happy would be someone who saw every facet of him, the ruler of both Court of Nightmares and Court of Dreams, the Warrior… and didn’t run. And those were few and far between.

As I walked back into the room carrying a tray with a kettle, mugs, and a few cookies that probably Az or Cass had stashed away, he suddenly spoke.

“…I never thought I would see this place again,” he said softly, his voice sad.

“You’re back now,” I said soothingly. “You’re back, we’re all safe… thanks to you.”

“Mor… it feels like a dream to be here. Like I am still Under the Mountain, and I am going to wake up at any moment and still be lying next to _her_.” The disgust in his voice was thick.

“Drink your tea, while it’s hot. I’m not making you another one.” He gave me a small smile, and my heart warmed. I poured myself a cup and took a sip.

“Rhys…” I began. He shook his head.

“I will tell you what I can. Some of this… it’s better you don’t know.” I nodded.

“Tell me what you want. I’m here to listen.”

“You’re being uncharacteristically nice.”

“And I can still nail your balls to the wall. Talk.” He really knew how to ruin a good thing. He chuckled. I had missed that sound.

“There’s my Mor.” He took a deep breath. “It began three years ago…”

~~

“So let me get this straight: your mate is a High Fae who was once a human, brought back to life by all seven High Lords after she was killed freeing all of Prythian from the curse, _and you let her go with Tamlin_?”

He paused for a moment. “That about sums it up.”

My mind was reeling from all he had just told me. At least he looked somewhat less traumatized. Between that bombshell and the things that he glossed over, the things that he didn’t want to talk about… I knew I didn’t have words that could express my feelings to him in full. I was torn between wanting to thank him profusely for being so brave and shaking the life out of him for being an idiot.

I decided to take the diplomatic approach. The Night Court approach.

“Rhysand…” My voice took on a honeyed, dangerous tone. He had the sense to look scared. Good. My patience was at its limit. “What happens now? What happens as she stays in the Spring Court? She’s your _mate_ , for Cauldron-sake, the one who is destined for you! Why are you just giving up?”

“Because if I took her now, she’d hate me forever,” he said quietly. I opened my mouth to say something, but he held up his hand.

“If I had stayed a second longer when I felt that bond lock into place, you and I would be having a very different conversation right now, with a guest who hates me and a declaration of war from the Spring Court. Tamlin would stop at nothing to get her back, and she would stop at nothing to get back to him.” He laughed and shook his head as he ran his hand through his hair, a habit he had picked up when we were children.

“I almost told her. But she looked so sad, and tired, and for once… for once she looked at me like I was worth something. I couldn’t ruin that.”

I didn’t really know what to say to that, though the urge to shake him still remained.

“I will get to see her one more time,” he continued. “We still have our bargain; she has to spend one week a month with me. Once I’m sure she’s all right, I’ll release her.”

I snapped.

“What the hell are you thinking?” I yelled at him. “You are just going to let another male have your mate, because it is the path of least resistance? You pigheaded _prick_!”

“You don’t know what I’ve been through for the last fifty years Mor!” he snapped back. I froze; I wasn’t expecting such a volatile reaction, though considering the stories that had trickled to our ears over the years, I probably should have.

“I have shredded my soul beyond recognition to keep my Court, to keep all of you safe! I made her hate me… I… I listened to her _neck_ _snap,_ Mor. I… felt her _die_.” He shook his head again. “She is better off with Tamlin. He makes her happy. She’s alive. And even if it kills me to watch my mate be loved by someone else… she’s earned that happiness.”

“Say her name,” I snapped. I was tired of this. He gave me a confused look. I looked him square in the eye.

“Say. Her. Name.” He still didn’t seem to understand. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“You keep calling her ‘she’. ‘Her’. ‘Your mate.’ Call her by her name.” He gave me a pained look.

“Mor, I-”

“No excuses.” I was tired of his games already. I would need to build up some more tolerance for Illyrian stupidity now that he was back to stay. He flinched and mumbled something under his breath.

“What was that?” He glared at me.

“Feyre,” he said quietly. I grinned broadly at him.

“There, now was that so hard?”

“I should punish you for talking to your High Lord like that.”

“You won’t, you love me too much. Now up with you. You look like death warmed over.”

He didn’t argue.

~~

Three months passed, and Rhys was still not himself. Azriel and Cassian had managed to get him out of his shell by sparing and treating him like nothing had changed, even though we all knew deep down that he had changed in a big way. He kept quiet about it; we all knew though that he was suffering. He didn’t talk about Feyre, as though by not speaking of her, the bond would disappear.

Then the day came.

I ran into Cassian as I came down the stairs of Rhys’s home above the Night Court, sitting in a chair. He was dressed for town.

“Are you going to Rita’s without me?” I accused him. He had the sense to look embarrassed, but he nodded anyway, a grin creeping over his face.

“Rhys wants to go drinking. Who am I to deny our High Lord’s request?”

I rolled my eyes. Cass was probably the only one in Prythian who didn’t know what day it was. It wasn’t exactly a secret that the High Lord of Spring intended to marry his beloved today. Rhys was handling his emotions as well as usual.

I suddenly realized Cass was talking to me. “… not here yet. I wonder where he is?”

“Who?” Cassian raised an eyebrow at me.

“His Lordship,” he said without an ounce of reverence. “He was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago.”

That wasn’t like Rhys at all. Suddenly, I felt his presence upstairs… and another one.

“I’ll go see what’s taking him so long.” I left without giving Cass a chance to ask why, and hurried up the stairs.

~~

“This is my private residence,” I heard Rhys say casually. He was in the open hall, one of his favorite places to be when he was here. It also had one of the most breathtaking views in the entire Night Court, if not all of Prythian.

“How _dare_ you-” A female voice. One I’d never heard before, and clearly livid. I came closer, trying not to be noticed.

Rhys snorted. “I certainly missed _that_ look on your face. You’re welcome you know.”

“For _what_?”

“For saving you when you asked.”

I felt my stomach drop. He didn’t.

“I didn’t ask for anything.” Rhys let out a soft snarl. I peeked out from behind the pillar, just out of sight, but close enough to see and hear well. He ripped a glove off of the woman’s left hand. She flinched and took a step, like she was trying to get away. But he held her firm as he took the other glove off as well.

“I heard you begging someone, anyone to rescue you, to get you out. I heard you say no.”

“I didn’t say anything,” she said defiantly. He turned over her left hand, examining it, almost pensively. I could see what looked like tattoos on her hand & arm… Illyrian tattoos. He tapped the center of her hand, an eye etched in black staring out of it.

“I heard it loud and clear.”

She wrenched her hand away. “Take me back. Now,” she demanded. “I didn’t want to be stolen away.”

Rhys didn’t look even the least bit fazed. “What better time to take you here? Maybe Tamlin didn’t notice you were about to reject him in front of his entire court – maybe you can now simply blame it on me.”

That confirmed it. This was Feyre. I swore under my breath. So much for wanting to avoid a declaration of war.

“You’re a bastard. You made it clear enough I had… reservations.” I was surprised. The fact that she was willing to admit that told me that whatever had happened, it had not been pretty.

“Such gratitude, as always.” I was feeling the distinct urge to shake him again. No wonder she was pissed at him, if this was how he acted around her.

“What do you want from me?”

“Want? I want you to say thank you, first of all. Then I want you to take off that hideous dress. You look…” He scowled. “You look exactly like the doe-eyed damsel he and that simpering priestess want you to be.”

Oh Rhys. Always a prodigal example of social etiquette.

“You don’t know anything about me. Or us.”

Rhys smiled, one of the ones he usually reserved for the Night Court when he went to remind them who their Lord was. To hide his feelings.

“Does Tamlin? Does he ever ask you why you hurl your guts up every night, or why you can’t go into certain rooms or see certain colors?” His description sounded eerily similar to what he’d been doing the last three months. Not that we were supposed to know of course.

She froze. “Get the hell out of my head.”

“Likewise.” He stalked away from her, but not far. “You think I enjoy being awoken every night by visions of you puking? You send everything right down that bond, and I don’t appreciate having a front-row seat when I’m trying to sleep.”

I realized he was talking about the mating bond. I looked at her a little closer. She looked a bit like a fluffy white pastry in that dress that seemed ready to swallow her up, her brown hair a mess of curls, pearls, and other displays of wealth. I kind of had to agree with him about the dress; it looked ridiculous and unflattering. What shocked me though was her face. She was thin and pale, almost sickly looking, but her eyes… if looks could kill, Rhys would have been dead on the floor. I was willing to bet this wasn’t how Rhys had left her when he let her go with Tamlin. This had to be killing him inside.

“Prick,” she said with hatred. He chuckled.

“As for what else I want from you…” He gestured to the house. I did my best to not be noticed, lest he cut this short. It was just getting interesting. “I’ll tell you tomorrow at breakfast. For now, clean yourself up. Rest.” He looked at her dress and hair with ill-disguised disgust. “Take the stairs on your right, one level down. Your room is the first door.”

“Not a dungeon cell?”

Rhys half turned, making an expression I couldn’t quite decipher. She clearly didn’t know him well if she thought he was capable of doing that to someone he loved. “You are not a prisoner Feyre. You made a bargain, and I am calling it in. You will be my guest here, with the privileges of a member of my household. None of my subjects are going to touch you, hurt you, or so much as think ill of you here.”

“And where might those subjects be?” I couldn’t really blame her for wondering. The Night Court was both famous and infamous for its cruelty, and Tamlin probably had spared no detail when telling his bride-to-be.

“Some dwell here – in the mountain beneath us. They’re forbidden to set foot in this residence. They know they’d be signing their death warrant.” He looked straight at her. “Amarantha wasn’t very creative,” he said, his tone cold and angry. “My court beneath this mountain has long been feared, and she chose to replicate it by violating the space of Prythian’s sacred mountain. So yes: there’s a court beneath this mountain – the court your Tamlin now expects me to be subjecting you to. I preside over it every now and then, but it mostly rules itself.”

“When – when are you taking me there?” Despite her anger, she was clearly terrified, and Rhys wasn’t helping the situation at all.

“I’m not. This is my home, and the court beneath it is my… occupation, as you mortals call it. I do not like for the two to overlap very often.”

Her eyebrows rose. “You mortals?”

“Should I consider you something different?” I rolled my eyes. No, Rhys was _definitely_ not handling this well.

“And the other denizens of your court?”

“Scattered throughout, dwelling as they wish. Just as you are now free to roam where you wish.”

“I wish to roam home.” I bit back a laugh. She was a tough one. Rhysand had met his match, in more ways than one. I liked her already.

Rhys laughed, walking towards the other end of the hall, the one furthest from me. “I’m willing to accept your thanks at any time, you know,” he called back to her, not turning around. I scowled. Suddenly I saw something fly across the room, too fast to see what it was –

And it slammed into the back of Rhys’ head.

My eyes widened as I saw him whirl around, his expression shocked. I looked at the girl.

She had a shoe in her hand. Likely the mate to the one that just hit him. And she looked murderous.

It took everything I had not to start laughing right then and risk letting myself be discovered. This was just too good. I hoped I would get a chance to meet her during her time here. She seemed like just my kind of person.

Rhys’s lip pulled back from his teeth. “ _I dare you_.” Oh, he was pissed now.

She flung the shoe right at his head again, no hesitation, a blur like the first one. His hand snatched up, grabbing it mere inches from his face. He hissed and lowered the shoe, looked straight at her as I watched him disintegrate the shoe into dust in his hand. As his hand unfurled, the ashes blew away into the mountain range, gone.

“Interesting,” he murmured, almost too quietly for me to hear. He walked away. The girl… no, _Feyre,_ looked like she was going to kill him. Instead of following him though, she turned the opposite direction and headed for the stairwell that led to the room he told her was hers.

I came out of the shadow of the pillar and started toward the hall Rhys had gone down. Just before I made it to the door, he suddenly walked back into the room, his face a mess of anger, confusion, and… sadness?

I grinned at him brightly, amused by the entire situation. These two were so perfect for each other it was hilarious. “So, _that_ went well.”

He snarled at me in response.

Oh yes. They were perfect for each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you thought! All comments and suggestions are welcome, & if you have a POV/scene you would really like to see, please let me know! Thank you for reading!
> 
> Update 6/19/16:
> 
> Hey everyone! I have a writing Tumblr now! If anyone is interested in talking and discussing ACOTAR, ACOMAF, or giving suggestions/asking questions, I can be found at http://kitashiwrites.tumblr.com.
> 
> Hope to see you there!


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